Month: April 2015

Singapore Changi is named world’s best airport in the 2015 Skytrax survey, three years running and the sixth time that it won. No surprise. The airport has been the darling of travellers with its wide range of facilities that include a swimming pool, a variety of restaurants and tropical gardens. For one thing, it is continuously expanding and upgrading to stay ahead of the pack.

Changi handles more than 50 million passengers annually out of three terminals. Although it is not operating near full capacity (66 million passengers), it is spending S$1.7 billion (US$1.4 billion) on a fourth terminal to be completed by 2018 and there are already plans for a fifth terminal, costing an estimated S$3 billion, which will be bigger than the current three terminals combined. (See Changi Airport raises the bar to be the world’s best airport, Dec 18, 2014)

The fast food concept definitely originated in the United States, but became so loved by visitors to the U.S., that the custom has spread globally — with many interesting fast food restaurant chains popping up in all different countries around the world. We have compiled a list of our favorites, and some that are just too unique to not share with all of our fellow travelers. Enjoy!

Max — Sweden

As you are about to learn from this article, many countries believe the classic fast food hamburger chains are defining as “fast food,” and have their own hamburger chains that look an awful lot like their American Counterparts. The biggest difference is the quality of the food. Max is a very good example of this; while it looks just like the items we get in our fast food restaurants, quality products make a difference you can taste from the first…

Taking a train to get from A to B can be a really good alternative to flying. When we travelled from Munich to Vienna, we decided to not hop onto a plane, but took the train instead. I already took the pretty new Austrian high speed train Railjet a few years ago and I loved it. Due to that, we decided against the ICE and to give the Railjet another try. It was definitely the right decision!

There are many reasons why taking a train can be more enjoyable than flying. The most important one for me, personally, is the fact that I can work way better in a train as I don’t have to clear security, board and de-board and so on.

A little welcome present in the Railjet

Due to that, we decided to take the Railjet from Munich to Vienna which took a little more than four hours.

Just when you thought that there was no way to squeeze anything more into an economy cabin, plans to add an extra seat on the A380 have been unveiled. At the recent Aircraft Interiors expo in Hamburg, the new configurations were shown. Its a 3-5-3 configuration.

The proposed 3-5-3 configuration in the A380 airbus.

It’s hard to find something positive to say about this. Great for a family of five perhaps? That’s where my positivity stops. Imagine being the lone traveller in the middle seat; passing meals across, attempting to go the toilet etc. No thank you. I wonder if the additional cost means that plane tickets will be reduced? I for one will have my fingers crossed that Singapore Airlines (my choice of airline) will not be adopting this. Emirates have not been keen for the uptake it has been reported. Checking your seating configuration will be ever so important if airlines choose to squeeze people in economy in this way. To read more about this check out Australian Business Traveller’s article.

If you don’t know what Splendour in the Grass is, you might be mistaken for thinking its some new, organic, hipster sweetner you add to hot drinks. Hot it most certainly is. It might be sweet but not in a sugary kind of way. It is however a music festival held each year in Byron Bay. There are over 100 artists featured this year headed up by Mark Ronson. Or if Florence + The Machine are more your thing, then they are there too. Peking Duk or Tame Impala? Or both? Check out this year’s line up here.

Tickets go on sale April 23 and they evaporate quickly. This year’s festival will be held on 24, 25 and 26 July.

I love a good travel movie. For places that I have been, it is a great reminder of the sights and sounds of that particular place. For places that I am yet to travel, it whets my appetite for destinations yet uncovered. Conde Nast Traveller has published the 50 Best Movies of the past 50 years. What a list! Yes there are a few favourites of mine on there; Lost in Translation and the Grand Budapest Hotel. There are a few missing though. Eat, Pray, Love perhaps? The Best Little Marigold Hotel? What do you think?

When selecting seats on your flight it’s worth considering the pros and cons about the aisle or window seat. We won’t talk about the middle seat – that is drawing the short straw. The window seat gives you the best view in the house. The aisle; quick exit and toilet access. It comes down to preference. I like the window on routes that are relatively short (under 5 hours) and/or routes that I haven’t travelled before. These pics were taken in Winter 2015 out of JFK, NY.